Pick the letter you have received and get a straight answer: what it is, what HMRC wants, how long you have, and what to do next. Written for landlords who have never dealt with HMRC before. Nothing you choose here is recorded.
BV
Written and reviewed by BK VermaProfessional landlord · Property Accounting Specialist · Commercial Finance ConsultantReviewed 22 September 2026
Most HMRC letters to landlords are one of six kinds. Pick the one that matches yours and this page tells you what it is, what HMRC wants, how long you have, and what to do next. If your letter mentions Code of Practice 9 or suspected fraud, go straight to letter 6.
Which letter have you received?
Look for the phrases in the small print under each name; they are the words HMRC actually uses. If none match, the safest assumption is letter 3 and a written reply before the deadline.
Letter 1 of 6
A “nudge” letter
What it is
A standard letter HMRC sends to thousands of people whose data pattern suggests undeclared income. It is not an enquiry and not an accusation. HMRC has matched records (Land Registry, deposit schemes, letting agents, banks) to your tax return and found a gap it wants you to explain.
What HMRC wants
For you to check your position and either confirm it is correct or make a disclosure. Some versions include a certificate of tax position to sign.
Your deadline
Usually 30 days from the date on the letter. Not a statutory deadline, but ignoring it invites a formal enquiry, which removes the benefit of coming forward voluntarily.
Do
Read the letter for the reason given: it usually names the type of information HMRC holds.
Check every property and every year honestly before you reply.
If something was missed, disclose it, usually through the Let Property Campaign, and say so in your reply.
If nothing was missed, reply in writing explaining why, and keep a copy.
Ask in writing for more time if you need it.
Don’t
Ignore it.
Sign a certificate of tax position you are not certain is true.
Reply by phone only. Put it in writing.
Guess. If you are unsure, get your position reviewed first.
A declaration HMRC encloses with many nudge letters. It asks you to state in writing that your affairs are complete and correct, or that you need to make a disclosure. There is no legal duty to sign it.
What HMRC wants
A signed statement it can rely on. If a signed certificate later proves untrue, HMRC can treat the error as deliberate, which raises the penalty scale and extends the look-back to twenty years.
Your deadline
The same deadline as the covering letter, usually 30 days.
Do
Check your position properly before deciding anything.
Reply to the letter in your own words instead of signing, if there is any doubt.
If a disclosure is needed, make it, and say so in the reply.
Don’t
Sign it as a reflex to make the letter go away.
Sign it if you have not checked every year and every property.
Assume that not signing looks guilty. Advisers routinely recommend not signing.
A formal enquiry into a specific return, usually opened within twelve months of the filing date. The letter names the year, often the area HMRC is looking at, and comes with HMRC’s factsheet on compliance checks (CC/FS1a). This is the point at which voluntary-disclosure terms are no longer available for that year.
What HMRC wants
Information and documents to check the return: typically rent records, bank statements, expense invoices and mortgage interest statements. The first request is usually informal; a formal notice follows if you do not respond.
Your deadline
Usually 30 days for the first response. You can ask for more time in writing, giving a reason and a date.
Do
Reply in writing before the deadline, even if only to acknowledge and ask for time.
Gather exactly what is asked for, completely. The Seven-Part Check lists what HMRC expects.
Send complete bank statements, not selected pages.
Keep a copy of everything you send and a dated note of every call.
Get your position reviewed before you send a substantive reply.
Don’t
Send more than was asked for without thinking about it.
Volunteer explanations that you have not checked.
Miss the deadline in silence.
Panic: most checks end in a modest adjustment or none.
A formal, legally binding demand for information or documents, issued when HMRC wants to compel a response. It must relate to your tax position and be reasonably required to check it. Some of what it asks for will be your statutory records, which you must provide; wider requests can be challenged.
What HMRC wants
Exactly what the notice lists, by the date it states.
Your deadline
The notice sets its own deadline, normally at least 30 days. Missing it brings a £300 penalty and then daily penalties of up to £60 a day. You can appeal the notice within 30 days, except the parts that ask for statutory records.
Do
Read each item and note which are statutory records (rent received, bills, bank statements) and which go wider.
Provide the statutory records in full and on time.
If an item is unclear, too wide or not connected to the issue, say so in writing and ask HMRC to narrow it, or appeal within 30 days.
Ask for an extension in writing before the deadline if you need one.
Don’t
Ignore it. This one has teeth.
Refuse the statutory-records items: there is no appeal against those.
Send partial or edited documents.
Argue about the notice on the phone. Do it in writing.
HMRC has decided what it thinks you owe: either an assessment of tax for a year, or a penalty for an error or a late return. It is a decision, not a request, and it starts a clock.
What HMRC wants
Payment, or an appeal.
Your deadline
30 days from the date of the notice to appeal. Tax under an assessment is due unless you apply to postpone it while the appeal runs; a penalty is not payable while an appeal is open.
Do
Diarise the 30-day date the day the letter arrives.
If you disagree, appeal in writing within 30 days, stating why, and ask for the tax to be postponed pending the appeal.
Ask for an independent review or, later, a tribunal hearing if HMRC does not agree.
Check the penalty percentage against the behaviour scale; it is often negotiable.
Don’t
Let 30 days pass. Late appeals are only accepted with a good reason.
HMRC’s civil investigation of fraud procedure. HMRC suspects deliberate behaviour and offers you the Contractual Disclosure Facility: admit and fully disclose in return for a guarantee of no criminal prosecution for what you disclose. This is the most serious letter on this page.
What HMRC wants
Within 60 days, either acceptance of the CDF with an outline disclosure, or a denial. Silence is treated as a denial.
Your deadline
60 days. It is not extended lightly.
Do
Get specialist representation before you do anything. This site is not the place to manage a COP9.
Every letter has a date to reply by. If you do nothing else today, write that date down. If you cannot meet it, ask for more time in writing before it passes; our reply-letter builder writes that letter for you.
Common questions
Is a nudge letter the same as an enquiry?
No. A nudge letter invites you to check your position; an enquiry (compliance check) is a formal process with statutory powers. A nudge letter can lead to an enquiry if ignored.
Can HMRC open an enquiry into any year?
A return can normally be enquired into within twelve months of filing. Older years are reached by a discovery assessment, which needs HMRC to show it has found something new. The look-back is four years normally, six if careless, twenty if deliberate.
What if my letter is not one of these six?
Treat it as a compliance check: reply in writing before the deadline, gather what is asked for, and get the letter reviewed. Send us a copy and we will tell you what it is.
Do I have to reply by post?
Reply the way the letter asks, and always keep a copy. Where HMRC gives an email address or an online service, that is fine; a letter sent by recorded delivery is the safest record.
This page describes HMRC’s standard procedures as at the review date. It is general information, not advice on your own letter. Deadlines are those HMRC normally uses; always use the date printed on your own letter.
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